The Wall Street Journal: Federal Reserve Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen will be President Obama's nominee as the new chair of the U.S. central bank.

The nomination would conclude a long and unusually public debate about Mr. Obama's choice, a conversation that started last June when he said that Chairman Ben Bernanke wouldn't be staying in the post after his term ends in January.

Mr. Obama gave serious consideration to nominating his former economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, who pulled out in September after facing resistance from Democrats in the Senate. In July, roughly a third of the Senate Democratic caucus signed a letter urging Mr. Obama to nominate her.